06.09.16 - (PRESS RELEASE) Ireland’s abortion laws subjected a woman to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, according to a landmark decision
from the United Nations Human Rights Committee. This ground-breaking
ruling marks the first time that, in response to an individual
complaint, an international human rights court or committee has
recognized that by criminalizing abortion a state has violated a woman’s
human rights.

The U.N. committee
ruled in favor of Amanda Mellet, who was denied access to an abortion
in Ireland in 2011 after learning her pregnancy involved a fatal fetal
impairment and found the prospect of continuing her pregnancy
unbearable. The committee held that the Irish government must take
measures to redress the harm Ms. Mellet suffered and reform its laws to
ensure other women do not continue to face similar violations, as well
as instructs the government to guarantee effective, timely and
accessible procedures for abortion in Ireland.

In
November 2013, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a complaint on
behalf of Amanda Mellet before the United Nations Human Rights
Committee, arguing that Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws violated her
basic human rights by subjecting her to severe mental suffering and
anguish.

Said Leah Hoctor, regional director for Europe at the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“Women’s health and wellbeing are put at risk when laws deny them access to abortion services.

“The
Irish government can no longer ignore its responsibility to ensure
women’s health. Ireland must now move swiftly to provide Amanda Mellet
the justice she deserves and reform its abortion laws.”

In 2011, Amanda Mellet
learned during the course of her pregnancy that the fetus had a fatal
fetal impairment. She knew she could not continue with the pregnancy and
asked her doctors for an abortion. However because Ireland outlaws
abortion in almost all circumstances, she was forced to travel to the
United Kingdom to end the pregnancy.

In
its decision, the U.N. Human Rights Committee affirms that outlawing
women’s access to abortion services can cause severe suffering and
undermines their personal integrity and autonomy, which results in acute
violations of their human rights.

The
U.N. committee unanimously held that prohibiting Ms. Mellet from
accessing abortion services in Ireland violated her right to be free
from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as her right to
privacy. The U.N. committee also determined that Ireland’s failure to
provide services that Ms. Mellet required constituted discrimination.

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Background:

Ireland’s
abortion laws are among the most restrictive in the world. Abortion is
permitted only when there is a risk to the life of a pregnant woman. In
every other circumstance abortion is a serious crime. Since 1983,
Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution has placed “the right to life
of the unborn” on an equal footing with the right to life of pregnant
women. Because of Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws, every year
approximately 4,000 pregnant women travel to access abortion services in
a foreign country.

The
U.N. Human Rights Committee is an independent expert body that oversees
states’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. It is charged with a dual mandate in that regard.
First, to conduct periodic reviews of state reports on implementation of
the Covenant and to issue ‘concluding observations’ on those reports.
Second, under the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant, it is
mandated to receive individual complaints from alleged victims of
violations, to adjudicate the matter and issue its views as to whether a
violation occurred. Amanda Mellet’s complaint was submitted in
accordance with the procedure under the First Optional Protocol.